Yuletide Transforms Into a Living Hell for Those with Misophonia.
Lottie hopes for spending time with her relatives during the festive period, but admits a key strategy she'll endure is by using her noise-cancelling devices - particularly at the main festive feast.
For her, the holidays often feels like a notably tough season as the auditory triggers of family members munching, slurping and nose-blowing cause her extremely uncomfortable.
"I get this wave of sudden panic, my whole body will just freeze and it feels like I'm in peril, and I need to somehow control these noises."
Lottie has experienced this condition for several years and for her that renders the holiday period "incredibly overwhelming".
Misophonia is an intense sensitivity to certain sounds, especially noises produced by those around you.
It is prevalent in the UK. A study reported almost one in five people suffer from it.
Typically it's sounds associated with bodily functions that cause distress, along with things like chewing, breathing, and repetitive finger tapping.
'Anxiety Inducing'
The sufferer notes: "There are so many various auditory triggers at Christmas and that can be anxiety inducing and make you dread it.
"My relatives are aware, but I'm very conscious that I don't want to upset others. It's like a really big battle of sacrificing my own sanity to make sure others enjoy themselves."
So it's obvious why the supposedly joyous season can rapidly become a living nightmare for sufferers.
Noises that may seem harmless, like someone slurping a Buck's fizz, opening presents, or tucking into a Christmas dinner can trigger a powerful reaction that can even cause them skipping events entirely.
The student, a young adult, who has struggled with sound sensitivity for over a decade, says her strategy is to listen to music to cope. On any other day, she would frequently go in a different room to avoid problematic noises.
She says her condition is more intense around people she's most familiar with, so the holidays is always "challenging".
"There's an expectation to socialize with family, and I want to, but it's exhausting on all levels.
"It's like this uncontrollable anger washes over me, which can feel shameful, or I'll feel anxious and immediately start crying and then panic will activate.
"To others it appears as if I'm being difficult and overreacting, but it's hard to explain if you haven't felt it."
Three Ways to Manage
For those affected then there are various strategies you can use to handle the situation, as suggested by experts.
- Imagine an Alternative: Imagination is crucial. Attempt to link the specific noise affecting you with something completely different. As an illustration, try to picture someone's slurping is just a gentle stream. The goal is to teach your brain that the sound affecting you poses no threat.
- Try a Competition: Introduce playfulness and make the irritating noise into a competition with the culprit. As an example, if someone is eating noisily attempt mimicking the sound. By joining in, rather than feeling like the sound is an attack, you become an willing part. And the game aspect should help shift your attention and make you a little less affected.
- Develop a Narrative: One more method is to try to invent a reason about the reason someone creating the sound is behaving that way. So if someone was sniffing, maybe they are not feeling well or could be emotional. This approach is altering the perception of the sound. Although the noise stays the same, your understanding of it changes from being irritating, to feeling a little more neutral about it.
